Over/Under

Over/Under would be the kind of TV series you'd buy at Target and watch all weekend, one episode after another until sadly there aren't any left and you start waiting for rumors of Season 2. It's a casual cuisine thriller, best served with a bottle of fine wine. Steven Pasquale and Caroline Dhavernas make a likable couple because they are good-looking, they look good together, and they've got a hell of a lot of problems. You'll be nervous about their fatal flaws, but there is something about their loyalty that perhaps could save them, and you skip along from one character-revealing moment to another with a blend of shock, fascination, suspense, disapproval, and ultimately straight-up compassion. You hope you're rooting for them for all the right reasons, although you might be secretly wishing you had their skeletons in your own closet. You could give this show an 8 or a 9, but it hits that mark so effortlessly with its always-interesting dialog, assured directing, and its feel for the Manhattan-Brooklyn axis, you'll be looking for a reason to give it more. They didn't green light the series, but, fortunately, this 2-hour treat has a prolonged ending sequence with the camera taking us on floating walking tours right up to a surprise parting shot -- making this a complete story unto itself. Even without the subsequent episodes, the ending here comes across as highly original and satisfying. Look for Over/Under on USA.